


it’s all fun and games until you sign a legally binding document

by BeStillMySlashyHeart, reachedthebitterend



Category: Roswell New Mexico (TV 2019)
Genre: F/M, M/M, Secret Marriage
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-02
Updated: 2020-08-02
Packaged: 2021-03-05 22:00:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,442
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25672456
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BeStillMySlashyHeart/pseuds/BeStillMySlashyHeart, https://archiveofourown.org/users/reachedthebitterend/pseuds/reachedthebitterend
Summary: When Alex received his honorable discharge from the Air Force, he finds out a surprising bit of news. Turns out, he's married.To Michael.
Relationships: Maria DeLuca/Michael Guerin, Michael Guerin/Alex Manes
Comments: 10
Kudos: 151





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> another old collab making the move from tumblr to ao3

“It’s been an honor serving with you, Captain,” the colonel shook his hand. “Just one more thing you have to sign and then you are officially retired.”

Alex bit back his smile and leaned over the last of what felt like hundreds of pages he’d looked at today. His pen was poised over the signature line, the tip of it a breath away from the page, when he glanced up at the top of the page. The neat print froze him in place. “What is that?”

The colonel made a noise of interest and glanced over at him. “It’s for your benefits, retirement and such,” he explained.

“I see that,” Alex had hardly breathed. He pointed the tip of the pen at one of the boxes filled out above. “I meant that.’

“That?” The colonel looked at him strangely. “You never filed the paperwork with us but it’s public record so we just filled it in. The document wouldn’t be valid without it.”

Alex nodded slowly as he finally signed his name. “Can I get a copy of this?”

“Sure. We’re making you a copy of everything you signed today, so you have it for your records.”

“Thank you, sir.”

The colonel smiled. “You’re officially a civilian now, Alex. You can relax.”

Alex wasn’t so sure about that.

—

“Guerin,” the room fell silent around him. Michael looked up at him from the couch as Maria froze in her seat next to him. Across the room, Liz, Isobel, Rosa, and Kyle stared at them with varying degrees of interest, eager to see what was going to happen. Alex really wished they weren’t here but he’d been trying to get Michael on his own for two weeks and it wasn’t working. “We need to talk.” He glanced at Maria and the peanut gallery. “Alone.”

Michael sighed. “I don’t think we do, Alex.”

“Noted,” Alex glared at him. “But that doesn’t change that fact that we need to.”

“Alex-” Kyle started softly. Alex waved him off.

“Do you remember that road trip we took in 2013?” Michael had just put his hands on his knees to stand up when Alex spoke. He froze in a half risen position that would be comical if Alex wasn’t internally freaking out a little bit. 

“Alex, what is-” Maria started to ask.

“Do you remember that stupid joke we played on each other?” Alex stared at Michael as he fell back onto the couch. “Do you?”

Alex was fairly sure nobody breathed as they stared between the two men. Alex waited, his eyes locked on Michael as he watched the realization hit, quickly followed by anger.

“Why are you bringin-”

“Not a joke.” Alex cut him off sharply. He took a deep breath. “Not a joke.” He waited a beat before fleeing the room. Michael’s heavy footsteps followed him outside a moment later and the living room erupted into quiet whispers in their wake.

“What are you playing at, Alex?” Michael demanded when they got outside.

Alex didn’t answer as he opened his car door and pulled out the folder the colonel had given him when he signed his discharge papers. The offending paper was on top so he didn’t have to search for it. He handed it over to Michael without a word.

“I don’t understand.” Michael stared at the page. “Why would you put this?”

“I didn’t. The Air Force did. From public records.”

Michael looked up at him with wide eyes. “It was a joke. It wasn’t real.”

He shrugged a shoulder. “Turns out it was.”

“But that- that was almost seven years ago. How did we not-” Michael blinked at him in confusion then looked down at the paper before thrusting it back at Alex. “I don’t think I can deal with this right now.”

“It wasn’t on my agenda for the day either but we do have to deal with it,” Alex warned. “We can’t just ignore it like we’ve apparently been doing for seven years.”

Michael backed away. “Yeah, fine. We’ll deal with it. Just not- not right now.” He fled back into the house like he thought Alex might actually chase after him. The door slammed heavy behind him.

Alex sighed and looked down at his name printed on the paper. Cpt. Alex Manes, retired. And next to it - Michael Guerin, spouse.


	2. Chapter 2

The door closes shut behind him and Michael leans back against it briefly, exhaling roughly, eyes closed.

When he opens his eyes, it’s to see five faces staring at him with varying degrees of expectation ranging from amused to downright serious.

They obviously want an answer, but what Michael wants is to drink so much he forgets all about the last five minutes, which is coincidentally what got him into this mess in the first place.

He breathes in deeply, takes another look around Isobel’s living room, remembers that Isobel’s house is now an alcohol/acetone free zone, and exhales all in a rush.

“Turns out we’re actually married,” he blurts out.

A heavy shocked silence falls across the room and since Michael wants to deal with this even less than he wants to deal with the fact that apparently he’s been married for seven years, he turns around and walks right back out of the house.

He’s relieved to find that Alex is gone, and walks as fast as he can, without actually running to his truck.

He doesn’t manage to make it that far because the only person in his life who gives him the space to run away when he wants to avoid conflict is Alex.

“Guerin!” Maria yells as she runs out after him.

He opens the truck door and it’s slammed shut.

He sighs, and turns around to face his girlfriend and the peanut gallery.

Maria is standing closest with Isobel a little further behind, hand dropping with a satisfied smirk of accomplishment on her face. 

Rosa and Liz are both standing right on the path that leads to the steps of the balcony, Rosa looking way too eager for what’s about to happen, and Kyle leaning back against the open door, his phone in his hand, thumbs moving fast as he types out a message or something.

Maria looks behind them with a small frown, but then turns back to Michael, face set in determination like she’s trying to hide what she’s feeling.

She takes a deep breath and squares her shoulders. “You can’t just say that you’re married and then run away. You owe _me_ at least an explanation.”

Isobel makes a noise in protest, but both Maria and Michael ignore her.

Michael doesn’t know what to say, but Maria talks before he can figure out what to tell her.

“You didn’t think that this was something I should’ve known _before_ we started dating?”

“How was I supposed to tell you something that I didn’t know myself?”

Maria’s brow furrows and she tilts her head at him like she’s trying to figure out if he’s lying while Isobel makes a highly skeptical noise at the back of her throat, drawing Michael’s eyes to her.

“You mean to tell me that that whole thing about a joke was actually true and not code for something else?” She asks, raising an eyebrow at him.

Michael just sighs.

“How can you not know?” Isobel asks, sounding honestly confused. “Getting married isn’t something that you do on a whim?”

“It is when you’re barely twenty-two and drunk and in Vegas,” Michael snarks and leans back against his truck, surrendering to the inevitable inquisition.

Isobel gives him a highly judgemental look, and Michael just rolls his eyes.

“Look, I’m not sure what you want me to say,” he tells her, eyes darting to Maria and quickly away to the others before looking back at Isobel. 

“I don’t remember it happening. We just woke up and thought that it was some sort of joke or trick, something that was funnier while we were drunk than it was in the morning light, and since there was nothing else to suggest that it actually happened, I forgot all about it.”

Which had more to do with Michael pushing away every single thought about Alex in the months after their road trip than it had to do with being drunk.

He had had foggy dreams that seemed more like memories than actual dreams of sliding a ring on Alex’s finger and signing the paperwork, and making the attempt to carry Alex over the threshold of their hotel room, but he had jotted that down to wish fulfillment than anything that had actually happened.

He can still remember the way his heart had jumped in his chest, and how his thoughts had betrayed him entirely when he had seen the ring on Alex’s finger and had found the matching one on his.

“If you didn’t know,” Maria starts slowly, and Michael jumps, startled out of his thoughts, and turns to look at her. 

“Then how did Alex figure it out? Did _he_ know the truth this whole time?” Her voice quivers a little, and Michael exhales roughly wanting to comfort her, but knowing she wouldn’t want it.

“No,” he says, firmly, because Alex would’ve told him if he knew before. Michael is sure of that. “He didn’t know either. It’s public record. So once the Air Force caught wind of it they apparently added it into Alex’s paperwork because it’s protocol.”

She nods her head slowly, looking away from Michael briefly and swallowing hard.

“Okay,” she says, looking back at him, and takes a step closer to him, a small smile on her lips. “So all you need to do is get the marriage annulled and this will all just be another thing that stays in the past.”

“What happens in Vegas and all that,” Rosa pipes up, and there is a smattering of laughter from everyone else, but Michael feels like it’s hard to breathe all of a sudden. 

He’s barely come to terms with the fact that he’s married, and not _just_ married, but married to Alex, who Michael has to avoid spending time alone with because it makes him feel things that he shouldn’t, especially not when he’s in a relationship with someone else.

He’s not remotely ready to come to terms with the fact that being married means he’ll have to get a divorce.

“What’s the difference between a divorce and an annulment anyway?” Rosa asks, dragging Michael out of his thoughts. “Aren’t they the same thing?”

“No,” Isobel is the one to answer and there is an odd tone to her voice. “A divorce ends a legally valid marriage. An annulment basically states that the marriage wasn’t valid to begin with. One means a strike on your record. The other wipes the slate clean.”

“I know you’re against anything that has to do with Noah, but would you be willing to-” Maria starts, turning to Isobel.

“Get you the paperwork necessary to file the annulment?” Isobel asks, finishing her question. “Easily, but there is one problem, both parties have to go on the record stating the reason that the marriage isn’t valid-”

Maria exhales roughly.

“Okay, so Michael will talk to Alex and-”

“Michael is not going to do anything,” Michael snaps, finally getting fed up with the way they all seem to be speeding straight away with a decision that he hasn’t even made.

Everyone turns back to him, but Michael only has eyes for Maria, who is looking at him with a confused expression.

“Don’t you want to get it annulled?” Maria asks, brow furrowing even more, when Michael hesitates to answer.

“I just, I need to think about it,” he says, and she flinches, taking a step back right into Isobel.

“What’s there to think about?” Maria asks, “Don’t you want us to be together?”

“Of course,” Michael says immediately taking a step forward, but stopping when Maria raises a hand in his direction.

“Then what is there to think about?”

Michael swallows hard and looks away, but he can’t seem to make the words that Maria wants to hear come out of his mouth.

“I need to talk to Alex first,” he says turning to look back at her.

She stares at him for a long moment before she stands up straight, pulling away from Isobel and giving him a look.

“Okay, fine, talk to Alex, figure out what you’re going to do, but we’re _done_ until you show me that you signed your name on the paperwork, do you understand me?”

Her voice shakes, and there are tears making her eyes shine bright, but she looks at him with an impassive expression and Michael knows an ultimatum when he hears one.

And he also knows that she’s hoping that he will tell her that he’ll sign the papers right now, but he can’t give that to her, not until he talks to Alex.

Michael just nods his head sharply, “I understand.”

Maria sighs, a disbelieving breath and then turns around and heads back inside, followed by Liz and Rosa, but not Kyle who was already back inside or Isobel who stands there and looks at Michael intently.

“This isn’t going to be like the time that you told me that you love Alex and then turned around and started dating his best friend, right?”

Michael exhales roughly looking at Isobel with exasperation.

“No it’s not,” he says firmly. “I wasn’t exactly thinking clearly last time.”

Isobel gives him a surprised look at that. “ _I_ knew that, but I was positive that you hadn’t gotten there yet, seeing as you’re still trying to date Maria.”

Michael just shakes his head. “That’s not what I meant.”

Isobel just rolls her eyes at him, turning to head back inside. “Just make sure to talk to Maria _before_ you decide to renew your vows.”

Michael just rolls his eyes again and waits until she closes the door to get into his truck.

What he needs is to drink enough whiskey laced acetone to forget about the entire afternoon, and then once he’s woken up from his drunken coma he’ll talk to Alex.

With that plan in mind, Michael gets into his truck and drives home.


	3. Chapter 3

Alex tossed his phone on the coffee table and buried his fingers in Buffy’s fur. In the three hours since he’d talked to Michael he’d received no less than 16 texts and seven phone calls. There were four voicemails on his phone but he hadn’t listened to them. 

Another text popped up on the screen and this time it was Maria’s name that flashed. Alex groaned and kicked the phone off of the table onto the floor. _Why_ did Michael have to tell them? He’d specifically pulled Michael outside so that everyone wouldn’t know. He was barely coming to terms with this himself, he was not prepared to explain or defend himself to all of his friends. 

There was a sharp knock on the door.

“For fuck’s sake,” Alex muttered under his breath. “I’m not getting up!” He yelled. He’d taken the prosthetic off when he’d gotten home and his crutches were too far away and Buffy too comfortable on his leg for him to bother. The latch clicked open anyway.

“Well you look like shit,” Isobel waltzed in, closing the door behind her as an obvious afterthought.

Alex blinked at her blankly. “What are you doing here?”

Isobel didn’t answer right away as she looked around the room. Alex wasn’t sure what she could be looking for, the place hadn’t changed since the last time she was here. “Tell me you didn’t know.”

“Sorry?”

“Tell me you really didn’t know about this marriage until now. Tell me you weren’t hiding this from my brother for seven years.”

“Fuck you.”

The corner of Isobel’s mouth ticked upwards before settling back into a scowl. “That’s not an answer.”

“Actually it is. You don’t get to break into my house, insult me, then interrogate me. Fuck you. And get the fuck out.”

“Is that any way to talk to your sister-in-law?”

“Yes.”

Isobel stared at him for a long moment, long enough that Alex knew she was playing around in his head, even if he couldn’t feel it. “Ok.” She finally said. “Be good to him. And make sure he’s good to you.”

She was gone before Alex could respond. He stared at the door in her wake before deciding, “I need alcohol.” There was a beer resting at his elbow but it wasn’t enough. With a heavy sigh he moved Buffy and reached for his crutches. 

The door swung open again just as he was reaching for the cabinet over the microwave. He jerked around in surprise, one of the crutches falling to the ground, and started to teeter. He had enough wherewithal to grab the counter but his other hand hit only air as he fell sideways. 

It was a short fall. Only a heartbeat after he’d resigned himself to hitting the floor, he hit a soft cushion of air that pushed him back upright. 

“Sorry,” Michael apologized as he walked over and picked up the dropped crutch. He handed it to Alex without comment and grabbed the whiskey from the open cabinet. 

“What are you doing here?”

“Drinking with my husband.” Michael dropped heavily onto the other end of the couch from where Alex had been sitting. Buffy gave him approximately 0.2 seconds to get comfortable before she was in his lap begging for attention. Alex glanced at his bedroom door before joining Michael on the couch.

“Careful. Your girlfriend wouldn’t be happy to hear you say that.”

Michael took a large swig. “Don’t have a girlfriend. Not while I’ve got a husband at least.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Not your fault. Not unless you knew the whole time and just never bothered to tell me.” Alex shook his head as he took the bottle from him. “She wants us to get an annulment.”

“I don’t know if you can get an annulment after this long.”

Michael shrugged and dropped his head back on the couch, his eyes closed as he petted Buffy. “Full disclosure, I’m more than a little drunk but-”

“You drove here drunk?”

“Isobel drove me. She came out to the Airstream and literally threw me into her car. I didn’t realize where we going until we pulled up outside.” Alex didn’t know how to process that. “Anyway, what I meant was I don’t want an annulment.”

“What?” Alex stared at him.

“When Maria suggested it, all I could think was ‘no’. I told her I had to talk to you first but-”

“But what?” Michael didn’t say anything. “But _what_ Michael?”

Michael shrugged awkwardly, his eyes still closed. “Do you remember that morning? When we woke up and saw the rings?” Alex did remember. It was imprinted on his mind. “I was happy. I didn’t remember it but I saw the rings and I knew what they meant and I was _happy_. I don’t remember the last time I was happy, other than that.”

“Michael-”

“I don’t want to lose that moment, that feeling. Not now that I know it was real and not just some joke we played on ourselves.”

“You’re dating Maria.” Michael opened his mouth to protest. “Regardless of whatever happened tonight, you _chose_ Maria. You can’t just decide that you want to be married to me all of a sudden.” Alex reached for the envelope on the coffee table and dropped it in Michael’s lap, careful to avoid hitting Buffy. “I’m pretty sure an annulment is off the table, but a divorce isn’t.”

Michael looked down at the envelope and then at him. “That’s it? You find out we’re married and the first thing you do is get divorce papers?”

“We’re not together! You’ve been in a committed relationship with someone else for almost a year! This is just-” Alex sighed. “Paperwork.”

Michael stared at him for a beat before ripping the envelope open and yanking the pages out. He didn’t even look at it before flipping to the last page. “You didn’t sign it.”

Alex looked away. “Haven’t had the chance yet.”

“When did you get these?” Alex didn’t answer. “Alex!”

“When I left the base, I went to see a lawyer.”

“You retired two weeks ago,” Michael spoke quietly. “You’ve had these for two weeks? And you haven’t had time to sign your name? Bullshit.”

“Michael-”

“You don’t want a divorce.”

“Don’t tell me what I want,” Alex glared at him. “You’re with Maria.”

“Don’t tell me what I want,” Michael shot back with a glare of his own. 

“Michael, we got married in a drunken haze almost seven years ago and didn’t even know it. There’s literally no reason not to get a divorce.”

Michael’s eyes flitted between his own before dropping to his mouth and lower. He reached out with a steady hand and looped a finger around the thin chain hanging from Alex’s neck. Alex reached up to stop him but he was too slow. Michael pulled the chain out from under his shirt and revealed the three things hanging from it.

Two were his dog tags. He kept meaning to take them off and put them away but he couldn’t quite bring himself to do it yet.

The third was a ring. Cheap, scratched up silver. Roughly seven years old.

“No reason, huh?”


	4. Chapter 4

There is a second of bated silence while Michael looks at the ring that he hadn’t known would one hundred percent sure be there, and Alex just stays still, hand raised and frozen right by Michael’s arm.

And then he moves, pushing himself back on the couch, drawing attention to the fact that they had been getting closer and disturbing Buffy, who huffs and jumps off of Michael’s lap to find a more tranquil place to sleep.

Michael barely notices as he catches the ring and dogtags in his hand before Alex can get too far, making him stop or risk breaking the chain.

“You _don’t_ want a divorce,” Michael restates this time feeling oddly breathless.

He hadn’t really expected to be right. He was going to do what he did best and push and push and push until he got a reaction out of Alex, since Isobel had dragged him here before he was ready to talk.

Alex wraps his hand around Michael’s wrist and it drags Michael’s attention from the ring he can feel pressed against the palm of his hand to Alex’s hand and follows his arm all the way to his face.

Alex’s brow is furrowed and he looks like he’s trying really hard to stay under control, but the problem is that in-control-Alex is not the Alex he needs to talk to right now.

He’s staring at Michael’s hand, clenched around the ring and tags.

“Why are you doing this?” He asks, sounding a little desperate, his voice cracking.

He looks away at that, eyes falling shut as he takes in deep breaths, and before Michael can come up with something to say, he’s turning back to look at Michael, eyes dark and serious.

“You’re too drunk to have this conversation right now,” he says in an adamant, _I don’t want any arguments_ voice, the same one he uses when they’re in a life threatening situation and there are too many cooks in the kitchen. 

Michael shakes his head and lets go, motioning with his chin towards the bottle Alex had set on the coffee table. “I think you’re not drunk _enough_ for it.”

“Getting drunk is what got us into this mess in the first place,” Alex scoffs shaking his head, but still reaches for the bottle, almost like he had forgotten that he wanted to drink and was reminded viscerally.

Michael leans back in his seat and stares at Alex as he tips the bottle into his mouth and takes a hefty swallow, grimacing as he lowers the bottle back down.

Michael reaches over to try to take the bottle for a drink, but Alex puts a hand up, and then takes another deep breath, swallowing convulsively for a few seconds, before he’s tipping the bottle back into his mouth.

He takes two more shots before he lets Michael take the bottle, and then exhales long and loud and leans back in his seat, turning a little to face Michael.

He waits until Michael lowers the bottle back down before speaking.

“Why don’t _you_ want a divorce?” He asks, jumping right into it, a strange inflection on the word ‘you’ like he hadn’t expected Michael to fight him on this.

Michael shakes his head. “No. You answer the question first.”

Alex makes a face and grabs the bottle again.

“This isn’t truth or dare,” Michael says when Alex sets the bottle down between them. “You can’t just drink to avoid the question.”

Alex rolls his eyes a little, “Well, _you_ can’t deflect to avoid the question either.”

“Touche,” Michael says, conceding the point and wrapping his fingers around the neck of the bottle. “Why don’t we start with something smaller?”

“Something besides the fact that we’re married, you mean?”

Michael inclines his head and takes another shot while Alex taps a finger against his chin while he thinks, which makes Michael bite down on a smile.

He’s only ever seen Alex get drunk a few times and everytime it’s the same. When he starts feeling the buzz, he acts extra proper as though that will counteract the effects.

He turns back to Michael, and his eyes go a little wide, like he’s surprised to see Michael staring at him, and he closes his mouth, tilting his head, brow furrowing, before he speaks, like he had changed his mind about what he was going to ask halfway.

“What did _you_ do with the ring?”

The question catches Michael off guard, but probably not as much as Alex had intended.

He doesn’t even hesitate as he reaches into his jacket pocket and pulls out the box, tossing it at Alex, who sets the bottle down in a hurry to catch it against his chest.

Michael takes the bottle up as Alex looks at the box in his hands and then looks at Michael and then back at the box.

Michael takes a long swallow and he’s settling the bottle back between them when Alex inhales deeply and then opens the box.

“I don’t keep it on a necklace around my neck, but I did keep it close. It was in the glove compartment in the truck. Didn’t even realize that that was what I was looking for until I had the box in my hands.”

Alex exhales roughly and takes the ring out. Michael grabs the bottle again because he already knows what Alex will see. A ring that’s smooth like it’s been handled a lot. Michael had never put it on. It had never felt right without Alex, but on the really bad nights he clenched the ring tightly in his hand, and imagined what it would’ve been like if they had gotten married for real.

Alex looks from the ring to Michael and then shakes his head. 

"We’re both idiots,” he says, and reaches for the bottle, taking a drink like he’s trying to give himself liquid courage for what he’s about to say next. 

“You say that I’m the worst thing that’s ever happened to you,” he starts, lowering the bottle and Michael is already shaking his head, but Alex just keeps talking before Michael can say anything.

“But you’re also telling me that thinking that you were married to me is one of the happiest moments of your life,” he continues, sounding a little exasperated but mostly surprised. “I know I gave you mixed signals before, but this is-”

“Wait,” Michael says before Alex can keep talking, because he will keep talking if Michael doesn’t stop him. 

Michael knows this stage of drunk-Alex well.

“First things first,” he says, and makes a face at Alex when he raises a pointed eyebrow at him. “We’ve been over this, more than once. You know I didn’t mean that.”

Alex rolls his eyes a little, but lifts the bottle in his direction to concede the point.

“Next thing,” he continues. “You didn’t just give me mixed signals. You kept walking away.”

“I know,” Alex sighs, lifting the bottle to his mouth. "But those were extenuating circumstances.”

Michael takes the bottle from him before he can take a sip. “It doesn’t change the fact that you did.”

Alex nods his head, a little solemnly and Michael rolls his eyes, and lifts the bottle to his mouth, when Alex wraps his fingers around Michael’s wrist.

Michael looks over at him curiously, and Alex stares at him intently, gaze focused and Michael feels _something_ pulse deep inside of him, making him feel a little bit like he can’t breathe, and maybe, just _maybe_ it’s a bad idea to keep drinking if he wants to keep his thoughts on the conversation and not on anything else, especially given the direction of his _sober_ thoughts whenever he’s around Alex, alone, for more than five minutes.

“I’m sorry,” he says, and Michael feels his heart trip all over itself. “I didn’t mean to hurt you. And by the time I was trying to do better, you had already moved on, and I’m here, just dragging you back when you’ve made it very clear that you don’t feel the same anymore and I-”

“Stop,” Michael says, feeling like Alex is steamrolling past several topics, and not giving Michael enough time to come up with something to say.

Alex stops speaking and he swallows hard, eyes wide and intense and on Michael, and Michael can’t _think_.

He licks his lips and blinks his eyes several times, trying to figure out what he wants to say, and the words come easily, but he doesn’t know how Alex is going to react when he says them.

He inhales deeply and just stares back at Alex, whose eyes go a little bit wider in shock as he recognizes the look in Michael’s eyes.

“I _never_ look away,” he says, staring at Alex intently.

Alex shakes his head, swallowing convulsively, “You don’t really mean that.”

“I do,” Michael says, and goes to move in closer, but Alex squeezes his wrist hard, reminding him that Alex is still hanging onto his hand.

“Stop it,” he says, and he’s giving Michael a truly hurtful look. He didn’t even look this much in pain when Michael had told him that he was going to try and see where things went with Maria.

"Alex,“ he starts, and Alex shakes his head, letting his hand go, and moving backwards in his seat, and looking like he needs to escape, like he needs to _run_ , and Michael is moving before he even really thinks about it

He cages Alex against the other side of the small couch, sinking his knees down on either side of Alex’s hips, and setting his hands down on the arm of the couch on either side of Alex’s head.

Michael hovers over him, and Alex looks up at him, startled, and his eyes dart from Michael’s down to his mouth and then up to his eyes, and then back down to his mouth like he can’t help it.

Michael licks his lips, and Alex inhales sharply.

He looks back up into Michael’s eyes, his eyes full of questions.

“Listen to me for once,” he says, and Alex scoffs immediately, rolling his eyes.

Michael just stays quiet, looking at him intently, until Alex exhales and raises an eyebrow at him.

“You know what my childhood was like,” he starts, and sees the way that Alex softens up immediately, the way he always does whenever Michael mentions his less than stellar upbringing. “You know that there was a lot of shit that happened to me that I never chose for myself. And even though I love them, I didn’t choose Max and Izzy either, they were always a part of me since I hatched from my pod.”

Alex rolls his eyes a little, but this time more amused than annoyed.

“Is there a point to telling me things that I already know?” Alex asks, voice snarky, and Michael just looks at him intently until Alex slips his hand up to his face and mimes zipping his lips shut.

Michael can’t help the smile that spreads across his face, and he shakes his head a little.

“The point is,” he starts mockingly, leaning in a little closer. “Is that I’ve never chosen anything for myself, but you.”

Alex’s eyes go wide, and his lips part and he stares at Michael, expression stupefied.

“You were the first thing that I ever saw that I wanted and realized that I could have,” Michael continues. “I chose _you_ , _years_ ago.”

His eyes drop to the ring resting on Alex’s chest and it’s almost like a gong goes off in his head, and maybe it’s because he’s been thinking of nothing but that night, but he can hear Alex’s voice, echoey in his ears, saying, _you’re mine and I choose you forever._

Alex exhales shakily, and when Michael’s gaze darts up to his eyes, Alex looks like he’s in a daze.

“You’re mine and I choose you forever,” he whispers, and Michael feels like someone knocked him over the head with a baseball bat.

Alex moves, sitting up, and Michael moves back with him, sitting back on Alex’s thighs, and realizing exactly how suggestive their position is at that moment.

Alex still seems lost in his thoughts, and he opens one of his hands where Michael’s ring is resting in the palm of his hand. He licks his lips and looks from the ring to Michael’s face, looking at him seriously.

"I never want to lose you,” he continues, and Michael freezes in process of sliding off Alex’s lap, so that he’s awkwardly, perched on his knees looking at him with wide eyes, lips parted in shock.

“And even though I have to go,” he keeps going like he has to get it out or else he’ll lose the words. “This is my promise to you that I _will_ come back to you.”

He lifts his hand with the ring towards Michael, and Michael is helpless to stop himself from moving forward slightly, holding his hand out.

Alex looks at Michael’s hand and then his eyes dart up to Michael’s face, and he inhales sharply at whatever it is that he sees.

“Do you understand?” he finishes, voice shaky, like he’s expecting Michael to say no.

But Michael just nods his head immediately, pushing back into Alex’s space.

“I _do_ ,” he says firmly, and Alex stares at him unblinkingly for a long moment before he pushes Michael back a little and holds the ring out to him. Michael holds his hand out instead, and Alex just inhales deeply before he reaches for Michael’s hand, fingers wrapping around his wrist as he pulls Michael’s hand closer to him.

Michael holds his breath, feeling a little lightheaded, heart pounding sluggishly in his head.

It seems like time slows down as Alex slides the ring on his finger.

They both stare at the ring on Michael’s finger for a long moment, before Michael is moving, reaching out to tug the chain over Alex’s head.

Alex lets him, and his hands are shaking when Michael finally slides the ring onto his finger.

“Do you-?” Michael starts, looking up into Alex’s eyes, and Alex cuts him off, hands cupping Michael’s jaw in his hands, looking back at Michael.

“I do,” he responds back, and Michael feels a bubble of laughter wanting to come out of his mouth, but before it can, Alex is pulling him in closer.

Michael breathes in shakily, and Alex hesitates just for a second, just enough that Michael makes a low protesting sound before he’s wrapping his arms around Alex’s shoulders and pushing in even closer.

Their noses brush together and Alex inhales sharply.

“Wait,” he says, voice low and airy. “We can’t.”

“Why not?” Michael says, whining low at the back of his throat, but not pulling away.

“You’re dating Ma-”

Michael shakes his head, noses brushing together. “We broke up remember?”

Alex’s eyes go a little wider, “Yeah?”

Michael nods his head. “Yeah, because you’re my husband.”

“ _Oh yeah_ ,” Alex says, like it’s a revelation.

“Yeah,” Michael responds, leaning in even closer.

Alex exhales roughly, his breath hot and heavy on Michael’s mouth.

Michael shudders with his next breath and Alex kisses him, pressing their mouths together softly, just barely brushing their lips together once, before he moves, brushing their noses together as he changes the angle, and kisses him again, harder and longer.

He drags his hands up into Michael’s hair, fingers wrapping around the strands before he tugs tightly.

It’s almost like he flips an on switch. 

Michael pushes into the kiss, tightening his arms around Alex’s neck, and kisses him harder, biting down on his bottom lip.

Alex gasps, fingers going tighter in Michael’s hair, and tugging him back. 

Michael’s eyes flutter open and Alex looks dazed as he stares at him, eyes riveted to his mouth.

“We’re married,” he says like it’s brand new information that he just figured out.

“Yeah we are,” Michael says, agreeing with the assessment.

Alex nods his head and leans in close and kisses him hard and fast before he pulls away again, fingers in Michael’s hair keeping him from closing the distance between them.

Michael whines low in his throat.

“We have to talk about this,” Alex says, like he needs to put the statement out there.

“We will,” Michael promises, whatever it takes to get Alex’s mouth back on his.

Alex nods his head and kisses him again, harder and just a little bit desperate.

He bites against Michael’s lips and licks into his mouth deepening the kiss.

Michael pushes into the kiss, until they topple backwards, separating their mouths with a gasp.

Michael settles both of his hands on either side of Alex’s head and looks down at him, while Alex drags his hands down from Michael’s hair to tug against the collar of his shirt.

Michael licks his lips and looks at Alex intently. “Are you sure?”

Alex stares back up for a long second, where Michael starts to think that maybe he’s going to tell him no, but Alex just breathes in deeply, licking his lips, before he pulls Michael in closer, brushing their noses together and murmuring in a hot and low voice, “Yes.”

Michael laughs a little, feeling bubbling happiness in the center of his chest and he leans in even closer and kisses Alex hard and fast before he pulls away, dragging himself up to his knees and pulling his shirt up and over his head.

Alex makes a low noise and hooks his fingers into the belt loops of Michael’s jeans and he leans up, as Michael leans down dragging a hand across the back of his neck, into the back of his hair and kissing him again.

Everything blurs into heat, and skin, and Alex’s laughter pressed into the skin of his shoulder as Michael tries to pick him up and just manages to stumble into the wall and slide to the floor with Alex in his lap, and the look in Alex’s eyes and the way his mouth falls open when he pushes deep inside of him, and Alex’s breath hot against the side of his face as he whispers in a low, fucked out voice, “ _I missed you_ ,” and Michael wrapping his arms around Alex’s shoulders and whispering, “ _Me too_ ,” right against his mouth.

The last thing that Michael remembers clearly is Alex’s fingers threaded through his and holding on tightly, pushing his hands back into the pillows, his forehead pressed against Michael’s as he moves between his thighs, mouth dropping open to whisper, “ _I love you_.”

-

Michael is startled awake way too early for his liking by a high pitched yelp and the slamming of the door and it makes him groan, as he feels how sore he feels all over, and he looks over to the door to see the shadow of someone moving pushing away from it, and he can clearly hear Liz’s voice saying, “Maybe we should’ve called first.”

“Fuck,” Alex says groaning, voice thick and sounding like he’s nursing the world’s worst hangover.

Michael can’t help but agree with him.


	5. Chapter 5

“Could you put some clothes on?” Kyle, fucking _Kyle_ , yelled through the door a second later. **  
**

Michael glanced at where Alex lay nestled among the couch cushions and blankets next to him and yelled back, “No!”

Alex winced and pressed a hand to his head. “Don’t shout.” He groaned and buried his head under the blanket on Michael’s chest. “How did they get inside?”

“I have a spare key!” Kyle yelled from outside.

Alex groaned again, his head lifting up just enough for him cast a glare at the door. He blinked and glanced around them. “I could’ve sworn we made it to the bedroom last night.” Michael looked around the room. He thought he remembered a bed but a quick glance showed him that their ‘bed’ was more a collection of the couch cushions and pillows and whatever blankets Alex had laying around. When Liz (and Kyle and whoever else was outside) had opened the door, there’d been no denying what had happened. They hadn’t even had to step inside.

“Seriously boys!” Isobel called. “We’re hungry and the food’s not getting warmer out here so we’re coming in in like a minute whether you’re decent or not.”

Both Michael and Alex perked up at the promise of breakfast and slowly started getting to their feet. The door opened just as Alex was steadying himself on his crutches and Michael closed it with half a thought, ignoring the startled shout that came from the other side. Neither one of them had bothered finding their clothes in the mess that was the living room and so Michael held the door closed as they walked towards Alex’s bedroom. When they were safely behind another closed door, Michael let the front door go. There was a loud bang as the door crashed into the wall but Michael ignored it as he pulled out some clothes for them to wear.

By the time they emerged fully clothed, the kitchen was a mess of food wrappers and disposal coffee cups. Liz pressed a cup into Alex’s hands before he even fully got into the room, a smirk firmly on her lips. “Good morning. Sorry for interrupting.”

Alex took a healthy sip of his coffee and then another one. “If there are churro pancakes in the box you’re forgiven.”

Rosa held up the box in question. “That goes for all of us, right?”

Michael swiped the box and collapsed into an empty chair. “No.”

They got six blissful minutes of peace as they stuffed their faces on Arturo’s food before Rosa couldn’t take it anymore.

“How’s the honeymoon?”

Michael groaned but Alex only rolled his eyes. “Seven years late.”

“Why are you here?” Michael grumbled.

“We wanted to make sure you two didn’t kill each other,” Isobel smirked. “And bring Michael’s truck over so he’s not stranded here.”

“We didn’t kill each other,” Alex glared at her over the rim of his cup.

Liz pressed a finger into a hickey on the side of his neck and Alex flinched away, his hand coming up to cradle the mug to stop it from spilling. “Looks like it was a close one, though,” she teased. She tried to smile but her eyes were sad and Alex understood. This was going to hurt Maria and it was hard to be happy for one friend when it caused another to be hurting. She’d worn the same sad smile for months when Maria had first started dating Michael until Alex convinced her it was okay to be happy for Maria.

At the thought of Maria, Alex looked over at Michael, just meeting his gaze as he lifted his head from the nearly empty plate of pancakes. Alex raised an eyebrow and Michael handed over the last one without comment.

“So,” Kyle drawled. “You two are married, huh?”

“Looks like it,” Alex replied, not looking up from his pancake.

“You two gonna stay that way?” Rosa asked.

“Yes,” Michael answered at the same time that Alex replied with, “to be determined.”

The kitchen fell silent as Michael turned on Alex with a furrowed brow. “We agreed no divorce.”

Alex rolled his eyes. “We talked about it but we didn’t agree on anything. And then you got me drunk and we- we got distracted.”

“Alex-”

“And we’ll talk more about it later,” Alex cut him off with a glare.

Michael shifted his jaw and nodded once before turning to their crowd of onlookers. “Thanks for the coffee and the pancakes and for bringing my truck but y’all can leave.” No one moved. “Now.” Still, no one moved.

“Look,” was all Alex could get out before Isobel’s keys, Liz’s jacket, Kyle’s shoes, and Rosa’s phone all flew out the suddenly open front door.

“Out!” Michael yelled. Isobel and Rosa rolled their eyes but left with only a muttered snide comment or two. Kyle checked with Alex, waiting until Alex nodded at him to go, before he too turned and left. Liz hesitated until the others were gone.

“When are you going to talk to Maria?” She asked Michael. 

“She broke up with me,” Michael reminded her.

Liz rolled her eyes. “She found out you’re married, of course she broke up with you. You still need to talk to her if this is really going to happen,” she gestured between them. “This is something she needs to know and she needs to hear it from you.” 

“I’ll talk to her,” Michael promised. “Later.”

“Define later,” Liz persisted.

Michael glared. “Not now. Not in the next few minutes and not until I talk to my damn husband.”

Alex would deny it until the day he died but hearing Michael declare himself his husband so confidently made his stomach flutter. 

“Fine, but do it soon. She shouldn’t hear about you two from anyone else,” Liz warned.

“She won’t,” Alex promised her before he nodded at the door. Liz took the hint and left without another word.

When they were finally alone, the distant rumble of two cars fading away, Michael turned on Alex. “What did you mean when you said ‘to be determined’?”

Alex sighed. “Exactly that. It’s something we need to talk about and-”

“We did talk about it.”

“We have a decade of issues, Guerin, it’s not all going to be fixed in a single night in a single conversation! We can’t go from barely speaking and you dating someone else to happily married couple overnight!”

“Yeah, I know that,” Michael glared at him. “But I thought we’d decided divorce was off the table?”

“When did we decide that?”

“When I pulled your wedding ring off of your necklace! When we put our rings on each other, hell when we said our vows again!” Michael yelled. “What about any of that says divorce is under consideration?”

“The part where it’s been seven years and we’ve never had an actual, functioning relationship,” Alex shot back. “Look. I love you.” Michael inhaled sharply, his glare softening. “And I want to be with you and yeah, I’d love to be married to you someday but I’m not sure someday is _today_.”

“Well,” Michael replied. “I hate to break it to you but someday is in fact today, on account of we’re actually married, here and now.”

Alex glared at him. “Thank you, Michael, I do realize that. What I’m trying to say is divorce wouldn’t necessarily be the end of us. We can get a divorce and start new, start fresh. Date without the pressure of figuring out what the hell it means to be married.” He paused. “I mean, that is, if you want to date.” 

“I told you I don’t want a divorce, that I want us to stay married, and you’re asking if dating is something that I want?” Michael asked in disbelief.

“Yeah,” Alex said simply. “You and Maria broke up because we’re married. Who knows what you’ll decide if we’re not.”

Michael stared at him across the table for long enough that Alex started to fear he’d just get up and walk away when he stood up fast enough to knock his chair back into the wall. Alex felt his heart pounding as Michael rounded the table and leaned over him, his hands braced on the arms of Alex’s chair. “I don’t seem to be getting it through that thick head of yours so listen close, okay? I love you. You- you’re a part of me, Alex. Loving you is a part of me. It hurts like hell sometimes but it never goes away. When you showed me those papers and told me we’re married, I’ll admit my first reaction was anger. I was so mad at you for telling me, for forcing that into my life when I was trying to build something with Maria.” Alex leaned as far back as he could in his chair, not wanting to hear this. “But really? I was relieved. And when Maria suggested getting an annulment, I couldn’t even stand the thought of it. If you really want a divorce, I’ll sign it but I don’t want it. I want to be married to you. I know it’s a mess, we’re a mess, but I don’t care. I don’t care, Alex,” Michael urged. “I love you. I choose you.”

Alex kissed him, unable to stop himself from grasping his jaw and pulling him those last few inches closer. Michael responded immediately.

“Ok wait,” Michael pulled back. “What does that mean?”

“It means I choose you, too,” Alex told him. “It means if you want to stay married so do I. On one condition.” Michael raised an eyebrow. “We go to couples counseling. If we’re going to do this, we need help sorting our issues out or we’ll just break each other again.”

Michael closed his eyes and nodded with obvious reluctance. “Fine. I can do counseling. As long as we do it together.”

Alex smiled. “That’s the whole point of couples counseling. That we do it together.”

“So, counseling? That’s it?”

Alex shrugged. “We still have a lot to talk about,” he warned. “But yeah. That’s it.”


End file.
